Boy, 15, charged as adult in South End killing

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Police officers closed off part of Southampton Street in the South End after a man was shot and killed on Wednesday.

By Brian BallouGlobe Staff
October 18, 2012

A 15-year-old Brighton High School freshman was charged Thursday with murder in the killing of a man in the South End, after he was identified as the person who fired several shots into a vehicle stopped in traffic Wednesday night, author­ities said.

The student, Raymond M. Concepcion of Mattapan, hid behind a barely opened door leading into a Roxbury Municipal Court courtroom, away from the view of news cameras. He is being charged as an adult.

“He’s a child, and he has no record,’’ Concepcion’s attorney, John Cuhna, ­said during the arraign­ment.

The Globe is naming ­Concepcion, a juvenile, because he has been charged with murder.

Two codefendants, Jaquan Derrick Hill, 19, of Brockton, and Shakeem Johnson, 21, of Hyde Park, also stayed behind the door during their arraignment. They are also charged with murder, and all three face additional firearms charges.

The three pleaded not guilty to all charges and were ordered held without bail by Judge Shannon Frison.

Johnson was also found to be in violation of probation. He was one of at least 22 people ­arrested last summer during a drug sweep by Boston police and was charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute drugs. Johnson was wearing a court-ordered GPS monitoring device when he was arrested Wednesday. The victim’s name has not been ­released by authorities, pending full notification of his family, but police said he was in his early 20s.

Christopher Belezos, a lawyer who is representing Hill, said his client is attending a college preparatory program.

It is the second time this week that a young teenager has been charged with murder. ­Ernest Watkins IV, 14, was charged Monday with the stabbing death of a 39-year-old man who resisted when a group of teenagers allegedly tried to rob him near the Fields Corner ­MBTA Station, police said.

The South End shooting was one of two killings in Boston on Wednesday.

About 11:05 a.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the head inside an apartment building at 14 Lyndhurst St. in Dorchester, police said. No arrests have been made.

The three defendants in the South End slaying were arrested following a police chase that ended on Interstate 93 in D
orchester.

The incident began at 6:44 p.m. when, according to witnesses, a male got out of a car stopped in traffic near 85 Southampton St., walked up to a car that was also stopped in traffic about two or three cars ahead, and fired into that vehicle.

The gunman then returned to the car and got in the back seat. According to Jennifer Hickman, assistant Suffolk district attorney, Hill was driving, and Johnson was in the front passenger’s seat. Hickman said there is evidence to show that the three defendants had been driving together in the area prior to the shooting.

A Boston detective was nearby and heard the gunfire. The detective, in his cruiser, pursued the suspects’ vehicle and managed to trap it in traffic momen­tarily, before cars ahead moved and the suspects’ vehicle took off.

A state trooper then started pursuing the vehicle and stopped it on the Expressway near the Columbia Road off­ramp. The three suspects were taken into custody at gunpoint.

All three defendants were ordered held without bail pending a Dec. 5 probable cause hearing.

The families of the defendants were in the courtroom, but declined to comment.

Daphne Griffin, chief of the city’s Human Services Division,
said Johnson was a regular visitor to the Tobin Community Center, run by the Boston Centers for Youth and Families. Johnson received at-risk counseling there and would meet one on one with street workers, mentors, and other staff. On ­occasion, he played basketball there.

“This particular incident happened and Shakeem ­appears to have been involved,’’ Griffin said. “It’s unfortunate that the work done at the center isn’t always fruitful. This is an unfortunate choice that was made, but there are so many kids making the right choice and changing their lives around.”

Attorney Matthew Feinberg, who represented Johnson, ­declined to comment about the case.

Emmett Folgert, executive director of the Dorchester Youth Collaborative, said the cases of the two young teen­agers charged with murder highlight the need for tougher penalties against adults who ­exert influence over youth to participate in violence.

“As a society, we should be clear there’s a penalty to pay if you’re getting kids under 16 to do your dirty work,’’ Folgert said in a telephone interview. “There’s a problem with gangs feeling that they can bring kids into life-and-death situations, to contributing to the delinquency of minors.”

Brian Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeballou.